The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-01-12
POPULAR SCIENCE.

3 The proportion of land to water upon
the globe has been usually reckoned a.
1916. But exception is now taken TO
these figures, as the amounts OF each IN
the vast unknown polar regions are too
extensive to admit of anything like an
accurate ratio being established.
, An English w:gmaker has invented an
electric hat which he claims is Q perfect
cure for nervous headaches and neural =.
gia. The apparatus consists of small
battery placed inside the lining OF IN
ordinary silk hat. with the fiat terminals
outside the lining, so that when the hat
is put on current of electricity passes
between the terminals and diffqses IT,
self all over tho wearer's head. 5;sss
A letter from Decatur, H., contains a 4
brief account of the killing of birds by
the electric light towers. Mr.. j. a., i
Coonradt, Principal of the high school,
has determined ten different specisst
among the thousand or so birds killed.
The number killed is q1ite remarkable /;
nor less 80 is the variety OF species, par-s
t;cularly at the time of year tScptember)fs
when the event oct ufred. Il
A reindeer's antler pierced with alargd
hole and beautifully decorated with cary.s
ings was exhibited recently by ID. H.
Gaudry before the I aris Academy OF
Sciences On one face are TWO seals, q
fish, and three twi Of plants. On the
other are two eel like, slender animals,
three indeterminable animals, and an in
sect This is fragment from the REIN
deer age and was discovered in the
&ontgaudier Caves, Department OF Cha
rente. saF..2i 4
The particular Office Of flies appears to-
be the consumption of those, dead and
minute animals VIII Sc decaying myriads
would otherwise poison the air. 1t was
remark of Linntus that three flies
could consume dead horse sooner than
lion could. He doubtless included the.
families of the three flies. A single fly,
the naturalist tel IS us, will sometimes
produce 20, 200 larvir, each of which. In
few days, may be the parent Of another
10000, and thus the descendants ofs
three flies would soon devour an animal
much larger than a horse.
A striking illustration OF the fact that
the least is known about the most COM
mon things is sho.. n by some recent eur
vcys of the Pyrrnees Mountains A large
lake hitherto unknown, and the largest
among these mountains, has been dis
covered on their northern slope lying In
gap between two chains Of peaks,
themselves supl osed heretofore to be one
and the samo. Also on the south and
southeast sides several ranges nearly ten
thousand feet high were described, none I
of which had e.er been noted on any
geographical map of this reaion. 81,
In recent: ddress to the British Geo
logists' Association, Mr.. W.. Topley I
stated that the and-area of England iss
probably as great as 500 years ago, ais
though certain coasts have been much
worn by the waves. On the coast Of Z
Holderness ard Norfolk the sea is gainss
ing on the land at the average rate Of
from two to three yards q year, whiles
during exceptional gales the Iossin places
has been many yards in single day. The
eroded material is deposited elsewhere,
as in the estuarics of the Humber and
the Wash, forming new land quite equal
in extent to that carried away. IS